LA Galaxy Academy Update - April 24

CARSON, Calif. (Wednesday, April 24, 2013) – The LA Galaxy will host more than 500 soccer hopefuls at The Home Depot Center this weekend as part of Sueño MLS 2013 – Presented by Allstate, the premier, nationally televised search for the best undiscovered soccer talent in North America.

Now in its seventh year, Sueño MLS is returning to its roots as Los Angeles is where the first tryouts were held in 2007. This is the third time that the Galaxy have participated in Sueño MLS and the first time the regional tryouts will take place at The Home Depot Center, with past tryouts being hosted in Riverside in 2009 and in Glendale in 2010. The Home Depot Center will also be the site of the Sueño MLS 2013 Finals, which will be held from May 9-12.

While pre-registration for the event is full, players are encouraged to sign up in person for the “walk-up” list starting Saturday, April 27 at 8 a.m. (PT) at The Home Depot Center’s Track and Field Stadium. At the conclusion of day, 30 players will be invited to come back Sunday, April 28. Of those final 30 players, only six, including one goalkeeper, will move on to the Finals.

All six of the Los Angeles finalists will receive an invitation to a week-long trial with the LA Galaxy Academy.

Friends and family of participating players are invited to watch the tryouts and enjoy the interactive fan zone presented by event partners. Univision Network’s República Deportiva personalities Felix Fernandez and Natalia Saenz, along with a host a host of former MLS players currently coaching in the LA Galaxy Academy— Mauricio Cienfuegos, Ted Eck, Clint Mathis, Ante Razov and Alex Yi— will be in attendance to help with the tryouts and admission is free.

SORTO AND VILLARREAL TO TRAIN WITH THE U.S. U-20: The LA Galaxy Homegrown duo of defender Oscar Sorto and forward Jose Villarreal were each included in the U.S. Under-20 National Team roster for their training camp, which is being held this week at The Home Depot Center. Villarreal helped the U.S. qualify for this summer’s FIFA U-20 World Cup in Turkey, leading the team with three goals in four games at the recent CONCACAF U-20 Championships. Sorto, who captained the Galaxy at the Dallas Cup, played the full 90 minutes in the Galaxy’s 1-1 draw with Seattle in the Reserve League. Sorto and Villarreal are joined by Galaxy Academy defender Javan Torre, who played his freshman season at UCLA in 2012 and was part of the U.S. U-20 team that qualified for the World Cup. Former Galaxy Academy defender Jeffrey Payeras is also included in head coach Tab Ramos’ 24-man squad. Payeras signed a contract in Guatemala with Municipal in January.

ROMERO AND WRIGHT TO TRAVEL TO ITALY WITH U.S. U-15: Two LA Galaxy Academy players were named to the U.S. Under-15 roster for the Tournament Delle Nazioni in Grandisca, Italy by head coach Tony Lepore. Goalkeeper Abraham Romero and forward Haji Wright, both of whom play with the LA Galaxy Academy U-16’s, will travel to Italy for the tournament from April 26 - May 7. Romero, who was most recently in camp with the U-15’s in March, has played in 10 games for the Galaxy Academy U-16’s this season in Development Academy play. Wright, who has appeared in 17 games for the Galaxy U-16’s, is currently third on the team with five goals.

AJEAKWA, LOPEZ and NUNES TO TRAIN WITH U.S. U-14: Midfielder Ateno Ajeakwa, goalkeeper Eric Lopez and forward Jesus Nunez were three of 29 players named by U.S. Under-14 Head Coach Hugo Perez to a week-long training camp that will take place this week at The Home Depot Center. In November, the Galaxy trio led the club’s U-14’s to a share of the of the SCDSL title with a record of 8-0-1. Ajeakwa and Nunez were part of an offense that scored a league-best 43 goals, while Lopez was part of defense that posted three shutouts and allowed just eight goals in nine games.

GALAXY U-18 DEFEATS PATEADORES: The LA Galaxy Academy’s U-18 team registered an impressive 3-1 come-from-behind win over Pateadores last Saturday at Orange Coast College, extending their winning streak to five. Pateadores opened the scoring with an 11th minute goal from midfielder Kyle Mikael Pizano, but just before halftime, midfielder Drew Murphy equalized for the Galaxy, sending the teams into the halftime break tied at 1-1. The Galaxy dominated the second half, completing the comeback behind goals from Paul Arriola and Jaime Villarreal. Arriola, playing in his 10th game of the season, scored his fourth goal of the year in the 61st minute, to put the Galaxy in front for good. Fellow forward Jaime Villarreal came off the bench to complete the scoring, tallying his second goal of the year to give LA a 3-1 win.

The win was the Galaxy’s 15th of the season and fifth straight, moving them to within four points of first place Real Salt Lake-Arizona with a game in hand. The Galaxy, who are 15-4-3 on the season, will host RSL-Arizona at The Home Depot Center on Sunday, May 5.

GALAXY U-16 DRAW 1-1 WITH PATEADORES: The LA Galaxy Academy’s U-16 team earned an important road point against rival Pateadores last Saturday at Orange Coast College by securing a 1-1 draw. Pateadores, who are sixth place in the Southwest Division standings and still alive in the playoff hunt, scored first just before halftime when Mel McCurrie blasted a corner kick rebound into the back of the net in the 40th minute to go up 1-0. LA equalized five minutes into the second half as an alert Steve Martinez intercepted an errant backpass to the Pateadores goalkeeper and tapped the ball into an empty net for his team-high 13th goal of the season to level the scoreline at 1-1. With the tie, the Galaxy are now 5-9-8 on the season and are in seventh place in the Southwest Division.

GALAXY U-14 AND U-15 TEAMS VICTORIOUS IN NATIONAL CUP OPENER: The LA Galaxy Academy teams are off to a good start in the Cal South National Cup, which is the qualifying tournament for the US Youth Soccer National Championship Series Far West Regionals. The U-15’s opened pool play with a 6-0 shutout win over Riverside Futbol Club last Saturday at the Lancaster Soccer Complex. Playing at the same complex the following day, the U-14’s posted an impressive 7-1 victory over Pacific Coast Soccer Club.

Next up for both teams is a trip to Escondido’s Ryan Park this weekend. The U-15’s have two games there, first against Attack B97 Green on Saturday at 12 p.m. and then against Capo FC Sunday at 8 a.m. That game is followed by the U-14’s, who close out pool play against United Futbol Club Sunday at 10 a.m.

GALAXY U-14’S ADVANCE TO U.S. SOCCER FUTSAL SEMIFINALS: The LA Galaxy Academy U-14’s will face rival Chivas USA in the semifinals of the U.S. Soccer Nike Youth Futsal LA Invitational on Wednesday, April 24, at 6 p.m. The winner will advance to the Championship Match, against the winner of the Pateadores vs. Real So Cal semifinal, at 8 p.m. on the main tennis court of The Home Depot Center.

Futsal is a key training tool of the LA Galaxy Academy and U.S. Soccer, helping to develop technical skills while also speeding up a players’ decision making ability. The Galaxy had two teams in the tournament, one in Group Blue and another in Group Black. The team in Group Black, coached by LA Galaxy legend Mauricio Cienfuegos, made it to this stage of the tournament by beating out San Diego Surf, Strikers FC and Real So Cal to win the group.

GALAXY U-12’S WIN LA’S MEXICAN CONSULATE’S COPA VENTANILLA: The LA Galaxy Academy U-12 Orange County Team took home the LA-Mexican Consulate’s Copa Ventanilla U-13, 5v5 Soccer Tournament championship. Playing up an age group did not appear to trouble the Galaxy, whose squad was split into two. Both Galaxy teams showed a lot of technical ability as they beat affiliates of two Mexican clubs en route to the finals. Galaxy B beat Santos U.S.A. 3-1 while Galaxy A got past Tiburones Rojos with a score of 6-4. In the final, Galaxy B outlasted Galaxy A 6-3 to win the title. Coached by Braeden Cloutier, the tournament was the first for the recently formed Galaxy Academy Orange County U-12’s, who are coached by former MLS player Braeden Cloutier and trains with Galaxy Alliance club West Coast F.C.

THIS WEEK’S SCHEDULE

Game Date
LA Galaxy U-14’s vs. Chivas USA – U.S. Soccer Nike Youth Futsal LA Invitational Wednesday, April 24Game will be played at The Home Depot Center – Main Tennis Court at 6 p.m.

TBD vs. TBD – U.S. Soccer Nike Youth Futsal LA Invitational – Championship Game Wednesday, April 24Game will be played at The Home Depot Center – Main Tennis Court at 8 p.m.

LA Galaxy U-14’s vs. United Futbol Club – Cal South National Cup Group Stage Saturday, April 27Game will be played at Ryan Park in Escondido – Field 7 at 12 p.m.

LA Galaxy U-14’s vs. United Futbol Club – Cal South National Cup Group Stage Saturday, April 28Game will be played at Ryan Park in Escondido – Field 7 at 8 a.m.

LA Galaxy U-14’s vs. United Futbol Club – Cal South National Cup Group Stage Sunday, April 28Game will be played at Ryan Park in Escondido – Field 1 at 10 a.m.

LA Galaxy U-18’s vs. San Diego Surf Sunday, April 28Game will be played at the San Diego Polo Club – Field 8 at 11 a.m.

LA Galaxy U-16’s vs. San Diego Surf Sunday, April 28Game will be played at the San Diego Polo Club – Field 8 at 1:30 p.m.

Times and locations for all games are correct as of Wednesday, April 24. Click here for a complete schedule of games in the Southern California Development Soccer League and U.S. Soccer Development Academy, which includes the Galaxy Academy’s U-16 and U-18 teams.